Rebel Without A Cause
by ToyInTheAttic
Summary: Taichi may have bitten off more than he can chew for the sake of revenge, and may even be putting his heart on the line to get stomped on. When him and mastermind ex-convict Yamato Ishida plot against Taichi's target, trouble is bound to start brewing.
1. Detention Hall

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

A/N: I figure it's time for a new Taito story. I'm hoping this will help me with my major writer's block when it comes to attempts to update _Turning Tables_. So, I appreciate all comments, and I hope you enjoy it!

Rebel Without A Cause

_Chapter One: Detention Hall_

The clock didn't move.

I don't know why.

Every time I looked at the fucking thing, it was still five minutes after ten.

I was furious.

Being suspended was a joke. All I really did was sit around my house and play video games everyday for a week. And I can't say being able to sleep in wasn't awesome too. But the worst feeling was waking up that morning and knowing I had to go to fucking school. And not only did I have to go to school...

I had to go to detention hall.

For three days.

Detention hall is an invention created by Satan. It was where students would go to get "caught up on their work."

Really, it's a classroom with cubical desks and no windows. I was assigned to my seat, given a shitload of work, and was told I could only have one bathroom break a day. They don't even give you a lunch break.

I stared at my math questions and let my head fall onto my desk.

It was a fucking prison.

The only other kids in the classroom were huge dirtbags who were there for smoking weed in the woods or stupid shit like that. It was _terrible_.

The teacher, Mrs. Kendi, was just a bitch. She just sat at her desk the entire time and glared at everyone as if she hated every aspect of her life. It's funny, now that I think about it, but at the time I was straight up pissed.

I glanced at the clock again.

10:07.

Five hours and fifty-three minutes left.

I sighed.

I was wrong. Prison would be far better than _this_.

At that moment, a boy walked in the classroom with a smile smeared on his face. I had never really seen him before, which was strange because the school was pretty small. He had shaggy blond hair that covered his eyes, and he was wearing a Pink Floyd shirt. My first impression of him was:

_What a fucking stoner_.

"Well, Mister Ishida," Mrs. Kendi said, a stern look on her face. "Late again."

He smirked. "Bad habit, I guess."

She rolled her eyes and assigned him to the desk behind me. "Here, Yamato. Some lovely math and chemistry homework for you."

He smiled at her, his teeth showing. "Sounds great."

"So what's your excuse this time? Missed the bus? At the office?"

"No. I was just having a smoke."

She threw her hands up with defeat and returned to her desk.

I tapped my pencil on my desk until she told me to stop. Then I sighed.

It was around ten-thirty when she left to go to the washroom. Once she did, Yamato Ishida turned around and said,

"Who the fuck's this new boy?"

I turned around to see him pointing at me. "I'm Tai," I snapped, turning back around.

He laughed. "What's a goody-goody like you doing here?"

I attempted to ignore him, but he kept going.

"Man, I bet you've never even been here before. Is it scary in here?"

I threw my pencil at him. Unfortunately, since I was seeing red, it missed.

He just laughed. "Shit. You're funny. Why are you in here, anyway?"

"Can't you shut the fuck up?"

Everyone seemed to be watching in interest. It looked like they were all familiar with Yamato and respected him, but I could tell I was gaining their respect too.

"You're just fucking hilarious."

"And you're just a fucking dirtbag. Why don't you go play with your other trailer trash friends?"

That pissed him off. "Hey, why don't you say that again, you fucking airhead prick?"

I faced him again. "Look, I don't know if you think you're some kind of tough guy, but I suggest you shut your mouth."

"Really? And if I don't, what are you gonna do about it?"

I couldn't believe this guy. I stood up and walked over to him. Then I pulled him up by his shirt.

"Listen, you fucking pretty boy. I know the differences between people who can fight and people who just talk, so before I get suspended again, why don't you shut that fucking mouth of yours. You don't even know who I am."

He shoved me away from him and grinned. "Of course I know who you are. You're that pussy who got in a scrap with Hiraku last week. I just wanted to see if you're as much of a bitch as he said you are."

I nearly threw him off his chair.

He charged back at me, sending both of us to the floor. I don't remember Mrs. Kendi coming in, but suddenly she was screaming at us.

And then a man came in and pulled us a part.

"You're coming with me," he told me. He turned to Mrs. Kendi. "You take the other one."

And that was the first day I ever met Yamato Ishida.

--

"What was his name?"

I shrugged. "Yama Ishida, I think?"

"Yama? Yama_to_ Ishida?" Mimi made a dreamy face. "Oh my god, Yamato Ishida is _so_ hot!"

I rolled my eyes. "I don't care. He's a straight up dick. I was ready to fucking kill him."

I was sitting with Mimi, Sora, Joe, and Daisuke. We were at our usual hangout, the Pizza Palace, where Daisuke worked as a waiter. Basically, he would just pretend to be working, but really he'd be sitting with us, hooked onto our gossip.

Mimi flipped her hair over her shoulder. "C'mon, Tai. You have to admit he's _fine_."

"So what? Does being good-looking make him any less of an asshole?"

"Yes!"

I snorted.

In case you were wondering, I'm gay, and I guess Yamato _was_ pretty attractive. I mean, I couldn't think of anyone at the school who was nearly as good-looking as he was. But my mind was made up – he was a douche. A good-looking douche.

Sora looked deep in though. "Is that the guy that got arrested in our biology class last year, Mimi?"

"Uh-huh."

Joe shook his head. "He wasn't arrested. They just found pot in his locker."

"I heard he's done some crazy shit," Dai said.

"Like what?" I asked tonelessly.

He shrugged. "Well ... I _heard_ he tied someone to a chair in their house, beat the shit out of them, and then lit their place on fire."

I laughed. "Oh my god, Dai, that did _not_ happen.

Joe took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Jesus fuck, Tai, now you're in for it."

"Oh, whatever. That's obviously bullshit. And do you really think I'd let someone tie me to a chair?"

"It wasn't just him," Dai added. "He had other guys with him, too."

"Look, it's bullshit either way. I don't care who he is or what he's done, he mouthed off at me, so I'm gonna kick his ass."

Sora sighed. "Just be careful, Tai."

Mimi smiled. "I wanna meet this boy."

I raised an eyebrow. "I thought you knew him."

"I don't. I just have a crush on him."

Suddenly, Kari, my younger sister, showed up with her friends. A wide smile was on her face. "Anything interesting happen at school today, Tai?"

I groaned. "Shut up, Kari."

"Mom's gonna be pissed. Remember what she said the other day? She told me if you get suspended again, you'll be grounded for a month."

"I said—"

"And—"

I glared at her as viciously as I could. "Kari, if you don't shut your mouth, I'm gonna tell her about what happened yesterday in your history class."

Her eyes grew big and round. With that, she left.

Sora turned to me. "So what are you gonna do?"

I grinned. "Simple. I'm going after him.

--

When I came home, I wasn't sure if the school had called my mother yet or not. The situation could have gone one out of two ways – she either hadn't heard and was cooking supper, or she was as pissed as could be and waiting for me.

Time seemed to stop when I opened the door and saw her sitting on the chair, her arms crossed over her chest and her face sterner than Mrs. Kendi's.

"For Christ's sake, Taichi."

"I'm sorry."

"You couldn't even go _one_ day?"

I rolled my eyes. "It wasn't like that. This guy completely picked a fight with me. I _had_ to defend myself. What would you expect me to do, sit there and take it?"

She sighed. "Well, you're setting a great example for your sister."

"What?"

"Taichi, do you have any idea how much Hikari looks up to you?"

"Kari doesn't look up to me."

"Oh, please! Of course she does! Do you know what she told me once?"

I didn't reply.

"She said she thinks of you as more of a father then your dad ever was."

My heart shattered.

"Please, Taichi, just stay out of trouble."

I couldn't believe she had said that. Our father had passed away when I was in the eighth grade, but he was a great dad. He taught me how to play sports, how to charm my way out of pretty much anything, how to read, how to fight ...

"Why did Kari say that?"

"It's just how she feels."

"But why? Dad wasn't a bad father at all."

She shrugged. "Kari had a very different relationship with your father than you did. She was younger when he was here, and it seemed like to her he was taking more of an interest in you."

"But—"

"I know, that wasn't the case, but that's how she felt."

I sat on the couch. "So why does she think _I'm_ like her father?"

"You're always there to protect her. But I have to start supper."

As she was leaving the room, the phone began to ring. I reached over and answered it, only to hear Dai's voice say,

"Do you still wanna scrap Yamato Ishida?"

"Yeah, why?"

"He just walked into Pizza Palace."

--

I ran there.

It was a fifteen minute walk, but I got there in five. I opened the door, hurried in, and looked around immensely.

And there he was, sitting at the table with some girl.

I pulled him up by his collar. "You wanna see me kick your ass in front of your little girlfriend here?"

He escaped from my grip and laughed. "Ai's not my girlfriend. And I'm not gonna fight you."

He sat back down calmly.

I turned his chair around so he was facing me. "What?"

"Look, Taichi, I didn't do that because I have anything against you. I did it 'cause I was bored."

"Well _I_ got something against _you_."

"Really?"

I nodded. "Yeah! You think you're some kinda fucking punk or something."

"How am I a punk?"

"You think you're a tough guy or something."

"Hey, I could kick your ass right now if I wanted to, Yagami. Don't think you're the only macho guy here. I just wanted to get out of that motherfucking school. I _hate_ detention hall – it's like a prison."

"Oh. So you're a pussy."

He sighed. "Taichi, don't even bother pretending like you know one thing about me. I could make your life a living hell, but I'm not going to because I like you."

And then, before I could process what he said, he continued his conversation with the girl.

As I was leaving, Dai stopped me.

"I found out something kinda neat."

"Oh yeah?"

He grinned like an idiot. "Something really interesting about Goldie Locks over there."

"What's that?"

"He was talking to that girl, and I guess he did tie a guy to a chair and beat the shit out of him. And he _has_ been arrested. And he's getting a straining order sentence against him."

"What the fuck? Why is he talking about all this?"

"The chick's his social worker."

I rolled my eyes. "Great job, Dai. You completely eavesdropped on someone's private conversation."

"And another thing."

"What?"

"The guy with the straining order sentence thing?"

"Yeah? Who?"

His smile widened. "His ex-boyfriend."

--


	2. Anger Management

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon.

A/N: I didn't plan on updating this so soon, but here you go -- chapter two!

Rebel Without A Cause

_Chapter Two: Anger Management_

"He's gay?" Mimi shrieked, sheer disappointment in her voice.

I shrugged. "That's what Dai said. Anyway—"

"So you're gonna try to hit _on_ him instead?" Sora asked, a teasing smile on her face.

"No! Why the fuck would I do that? I wanna smash his face in."

"Then why didn't you last night?" Sora's smile widened.

I shook my head. "Listen, I was just really confused. I mean, he picks a fight with me, gets me suspended, and then when I confront him, he just laughs and says he was bored. What's _with_ this guy?"

"Oh yeah, your meeting with the principal's tomorrow," Mimi said.

At that moment, Dai took a seat next to Sora. "What's going on?"

"Tell me about that Yamato boy from last night!" Mimi demanded him.

He shrugged. "Not much."

"What do you mean, not much?"

"He didn't really say anything."

"What!"

"What?"

Mimi was in dismay. "He didn't say something about being gay or anything?"

"Ohh." He tilted his head to the side, as if he was deep in thought. "Um ..."

She punched his arm. "Oh, cut it out, Dai! Tell me what he said."

He laughed. "Just something about having an ex-boyfriend."

She frowned.

I rolled my eyes. "Well, I'm still gonna kick his ass."

Dai's smile didn't fade. "Really? Yeah right."

"What?"

"Look, Tai, if you were gonna kick his ass, you would've done it last night. Just admit it, man – when he batted his pretty little eyes at you, you were in awe and let him go."

I gritted my teeth.

Mimi laughed. "C'mon, Tai, there's no point in denying that he's hot."

"So what if he is?"

Sora grinned. "Tai's got a _cruuuush_."

"I don't have a motherfucking crush on him. Why would you think that? I don't like the guy at all. In fact, I hate him."

"Can't wait for all that angry sex, huh?" Dai asked.

Everyone exploded with laughter. Except me, of course.

"Kari's beating you to the boy chase anyway," Mimi informed me.

"What do you mean?"

"Haven't you heard who she's hooking up with?" Dai asked.

"No! Who?"

Sora shook her head. "Don't even tell him."

"Why not?" Mimi whined.

"Tell me."

"He's gonna flip," Sora added.

"Just tell me!"

Dai grinned at me. "She's dating Masaru Ugimari."

"_What_! Kari, my sister, is dating Mas Ugimari?!"

"Told ya he'd flip."

"Why the fuck is she dating him?"

Mimi sighed. "Oh, Tai, look on the bright side. He's a pretty good-looking boy!"

I groaned.

Mas Ugimari was in Kari's grade, but he was my age. He was this pothead moron that couldn't get his priorities straight. He had no ambition. He had dropped out maybe five times in high school.

I sure as fuck didn't want him around my sister.

What would Kari want with a boy like that anyway?

--

"Mr. Yagami, correct?"

I nodded.

I watched as Mr. Takeshuri, the school principal, shuffled through some files, my hands neatly folded on my lap. I was so nervous, I could have been sick. I don't know why. I mean, I was almost shaking.

"Why don't you tell me why you're here," he said.

What was he, a fucking psychologist?

"What do you mean?"

He sat down behind his desk and let out a long sigh. "Why do you think this is your second suspension this year? Or ... this month, rather."

I shrugged. "I couldn't say."

"Mr. Yagami, would you take the blame for either of the events that led you to your suspensions?"

"You mean fights?"

He hesitated, and then he nodded.

I thought about it. I really did.

The first fight was in the second floor hallway. This guy I knew, Hiraku, wanted to kick my ass because he heard I called his sister a bulimic crack addict. It was rude, I know, but I had a reason towards it. After all, she told Mimi she thought I was an arrogant faggot.

The bitch deserved it. I fucking wrecked her brother, too.

The second fight, as you know, was Yamato Ishida's fault. So, I replied,

"No."

Mr. Takeshuri raised an eyebrow and wrote something down. "Mr Yagami ... would you say you're a victim when it comes to these events?"

"Look, it wouldn't kill you to call me Tai or refer to the 'events' as 'fights,' would it?"

I completely didn't mean to say it. Immediately, I covered my mouth and stared at my feet.

He wrote something else down.

I cracked my knuckles. A nervous habit. "Okay, sir, I promise these ... events weren't my doing."

He started writing again.

"And I don't care if you don't believe me."

Finally, he dropped that fucking pencil and folded his hands on his desk. "Mr. Yagami ..."

I flinched.

"We, the school-board, discussed your ... situation very thoroughly."

I had no idea what he was going to say. I could feel the sweat dripping down the back of my neck.

"We feel as though you don't quite understand the purpose of education. You don't seem to have a positive grasp on–"

"Mr. Takeshuri, I understand perfectly well what education is for."

He didn't change his expression. "Mr. Yagami, I'm going to say this bluntly – you cannot return to our school unless you complete a two week anger management course. Then you will complete two days in detention hall, and we'll let these _events_ be forgotten."

--

Friday night was my vote for party of the month.

I was having a shitty week, so I figured I'd drop by my buddy's party to see how all of my school friends were doing. But then, a party for twelve quickly became a party for thirty. Then sixty. Then two hundred.

I was buzzing pretty hard when I came in. I had had a few cans of beer, but as soon as I walked in the door, someone shouted,

"Yagami, take a shot!"

So, within the next hour or so, I had a good buzz going on.

When I first saw Mimi, she was in the living room. She had an empty wine glass in her hand, and she was making herself comfortable by practically passing out on the sofa. Her eyes would close for a minute or so, and then shoot back opened.

"Hey, Mimi."

She opened her eyes and smiled. "Guess who's here?"

Oh great.

"Who?"

"Yamato Ishida."

I rolled my eyes. "Do you wanna see a fight or something?"

"No. Just thought you should know."

"Thanks," I muttered, making my way to the kitchen. That's where I found Dai.

"Hey!" he greeted, offering me a shot of his rum.

"You buzzing yet?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "No. It takes for_ev_er to get me drunk. Have you ever noticed that, Tai? That it takes forever to get me drunk? 'Cause I have."

Yeah. He was wasted.

I made myself out of the kitchen and into the hallway. As I was pushing through, someone bumped into me and happened to spill some kind of black drink all over my shirt.

And, for fuck's sake, it was Yamato Ishida.

"Yama!" I cried, grabbing his collar and shoving him against the wall. "Let's go outside!"

He laughed.

He fucking laughed.

"Taichi ..."

"I'm not kidding. Does it look like I'm fucking around here?"

When I looked into his eyes, I got chills down my spine. He wasn't looking at me. He was ... looking _through_ me, almost. They looked so fucked, like he wasn't even there.

"They're after you," he whispered.

"What?"

"They wanna tear your fucking stomach out, Taichi. I know you think they like you, but they don't, Taichi Yagami. They don't like anyone."

I furrowed my brow. "Who are you talking about?"

"Them!" He pointed at the crowd. "They wanna kill you, Taichi! You gotta leave while you still can!"

"What are --"

"I can't leave. They won't let me. I'm already trapped in this useless dimension of silence. _You_ can still leave. Did you know that, Taichi? That I'm trapped here?"

He then gazed up at the ceiling. "They're everywhere. They hide in the walls. They live in the floors. They ..."

"Yama, how fucking --"

And then he laughed again. I didn't know what he drank, what he smoked, or what he was on, all I knew at the time was that he was _fucked_.

At that moment, everything turned even more fucked because he kissed me.

I couldn't really comprehend what was happening. Everything was like a dream or something.

I felt Yamato's tongue slip into my mouth and caught myself becoming excited. Before I could push him away or tell him to fuck off, I was grinding him against the wall and kissing his neck, biting and sucking down to his shoulder and back up again.

"I hope they don't eat you alive," he said.

I stopped.

Then he fell to the floor, laughing until tears came from his eyes.

I didn't find out until the next day that he was on four hits of acid.

--

It was _worse_ than detention hall.

I don't know why it was supposed to help your anger; everything about it just pissed me off. The posters, the notes on the board, the people ... even the goddamn teacher made me mad.

I took a seat in the back row and sighed into my hands. If there was anywhere I wanted to be at that moment, it most certainly _not_ would have been anger fucking management.

I was furious. I couldn't believe I was there all because of Yamato Ishida.

"You're in my seat."

I looked up and examined the boy standing next to me. He had shaggy dark hair, and it seemed like he hadn't bothered shaving in about a week. His face was in a sneer, and he had eyes of fury.

I ignored him.

He smacked the back of my head. "Hey!"

I stood up and faced him. "What? What the fuck is your problem?"

"I just told you. You're sitting in my motherfucking seat."

"It isn't hard to find another one," I snapped, sitting back down.

Only to be dragged back up by my shirt.

I shoved him away and approach him. "You think you're tough or something, you fucking moron?"

What was the deal with all these people starting fights with me?

He shrugged. "Just give me my seat, you pathetic dipshit. Don't think I can't beat the living shit out of you right here, 'cause I will if I have to."

"Look, man, you're not getting this seat back."

And then, we were at it, rolling on the floor and punching each other any chances we were given. He was a pretty good fighter; after a few minutes I could feel my right eye swell up and taste blood in my mouth.

At one point I managed to push him off and snap,

"Why the fuck would you fuck with me if you don't know who I am?"

"Oh, I know you," he sneered, shaking his head.

Then, before I could beat his ass any more, I was kicked out of anger management.

Ironic, huh?

--


	3. Preparation

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything.

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update! Midterms suck life out of you sometimes…

Rebel Without A Cause

_Chapter Three: Preparation_

"Hey, Taichi!"

People usually don't refer to me as "Taichi," so I didn't immediately respond to the frantic calls until he shouted,

"Hey! I'm fucking talking to you!"

I stopped in the hallway and turned around just to find Yamato Ishida.

"Oh. Hi."

"Hi." He smiled. "How's it going?"

"Pretty shitty," I replied bluntly, continuing my walk. "I have to go to the office."

He grabbed my arm. "What? Why?"

"I got –"

"Because of that anger management thing?"

I gazed at him, confused. "How did you know that?"

"I know the guy you scrapped. Look, Taichi, I'm really sorry…"

"Hey, call me Tai. Who was the guy?"

He ran his fingers through his blond hair with a sigh. "If you want, I'll go to the office with you and straighten the whole thing out. I know it was most likely his doing, and I know you're probably really pissed about—"

"Who was it?"

"They'll understand. He's always—"

"Who the fuck was it?" I snapped, maybe louder than I had intended.

He rolled his eyes. "It don't matter. Do you want me to go to the office, Taich…Tai?"

"You wanna fix this? Help me find this buddy so I can beat the living shit out of him. Or tell him to meet up with me."

He hesitated. "Well … first of all, I kinda can't talk to him."

"Why not?"

"It's complicated."

"Well, do you wanna help me or not?"

"Tai, I can't even go in the same room as this guy."

I raised an eyebrow.

He sighed in defeat. "I have a re-straining order sentence against him."

"For what?"

I didn't notice how awkward and shy this boy was until then. He stared at him shoes with his bright blue eyes, almost with hurt filled in them. The tough exterior on him shattered for a minute. And if you wanna know the truth…

I kinda liked it.

"Who am I gonna tell?" I said softly.

Yamato Ishida shook his head. "All right. I was really drunk once, and me and his cousin have a huge beef. That's sort of how I met him. Anyway, his cousin broke into my house, like, last year and took all my shit. And obviously the fucking cops wouldn't do anything for me because of my record and they thought I was just makin' it up to get him in shit.

"So...when they didn't do anything, I broke into _his_ place, beat the shit out of him, and took his TV and stereo. And when Jiro found out about it, we got into this huge fight…and I kind of lit his house on fire."

I couldn't help but smirk. "Why'd you burn his house down?"

"It didn't burn – the fire trucks came by too fast for any real damage to happen."

"So why'd you do it?"

"Do you have any idea what Jiro's done to me? He's put me in jail, gotten me kicked out of my fucking house twice, and him and his cousin burnt down a bench with the roof over it I used to sleep on. They're fucking dirty pricks."

"How the hell did he get you arrested?"

"He called the cops on me after I bought a half-bag off him and told them where I kept my scale. So I had to go in for trafficking."

I shook my head. "Yamato, you gotta help me get back at him! Look at all the shit he's done to you! And obviously you're a better planner than I am."

"I don't know, Tai…Jiro's not like most people. He has no limits – he's fucking psycho."

"Then what's he doing in anger management? Too scared to skip it or something?"

He sighed. "No. If he doesn't g to it every two weeks, he has to go to court and most likely go back to jail. He's not a big fan."

I smiled. "Then let's put him in jail. Seriously, I'm probably gonna get kicked out of school because of this kid. Can't you think of _anything_?"

There was a mixture of hesitation and excitement in his eyes. "Fuck, Tai…"

"Have you ever done anything to get back at him? Well, other than lighting his house on fire, anyway."

"Not really…"

"Then let's do it."

After a few minutes of silence, I finally saw a smile crack on his face.

"All right," he said. "I'll think of something."

--

My week went from terrible to fucking awesome within ten minutes one day.

It was December, and my mother woke me up to ask me to shovel the driveway for her. I bitterly agreed, but my bitterness vanished when I saw what she wanted me to see.

A black four-door Toyota in the fucking driveway.

When I looked over at my mom in confusion, she threw me the keys.

"Merry Christmas," she said with a monotone voice. "If I knew you were gonna get expelled, I wouldn't have gotten it four months ago."

I didn't really understand why my mom did that for me, or how she found the money to do it. She had been gone missing more often, but I knew she wasn't working too much.

Did she have a boyfriend or something?...

She also seemed to be pretty stressed out at that time. Kari was acting out in school, missing homework assignments and mouthing off at teachers left and right. And, apparently, she didn't like that I got a car too much.

It was about a week before Christmas when I was driving aimlessly around town, bored out of my mind. It was weird, because after I stopped going to school, my friends seemed kind of distant from me. It was like we were dying apart or something – why does shit like that have to happen?

And, of course, as I was driving, I drove by Yamato downtown wearing nothing but jeans and a T-shirt. If I remember correctly, it was surely below freezing.

When I pulled over, he still didn't notice me.

When I rolled down the window and called his name, I realized he was most likely in his own world.

Finally, he looked over towards me and offered a small smile.

"Want a drive?" I asked him.

"What?"

"Do you want a drive?"

He let out a laugh. "What? Where?"

"Wherever you're going, I guess."

Slowly, he got into the passenger's side and as soon as he did, the smell of liquor stung me.

"What've you been up to tonight?" I asked casually, pulling the car back into drive.

He shrugged. "Got kicked out."

"You what?"

"Got kicked out. I got kicked out."

"Of school?"

"No, moron. My house. I got kicked out. My dad kicked me out."

"Why?"

He smiled at me. "Because I told his girlfriend she looks like a top street-corner worker. Guess it sorta pissed him off."

"Really? Why would you say that?"

"Well, she does. I mean, if you dress in skimpy skirts and have your tits hanging out and you're thirty-six, you should expect to be called a whore."

I smirked. "I take it you don't like her much?"

"I like her, all right. I just don't respect her. All of my dad's women just seem to be the same." Suddenly, he looked around. "Hey, nice car."

"Like it?"

"Yeah, man. I love Toyotas. How do you do?"

"Huh?"

He didn't reply.

I honestly had no idea what to say to him. He was really just too intoxicated to even keep a steady conversation going. Then, he said,

"Did I ever tell you how much I love your eyes?"

"What?"

Before I could process what he said, he began playing with my hair. "I just … I kinda … fuck. I'm terrible at shit like this. It's like…"

"Yamato, what are you doing?"

"Can I tell you something?"

I nodded as he straightened himself up and turned his body to face me. "I kinda liked it when you called me Yama."

"Look, Yamato, I—"

"Just call me Yama. Please?"

I sighed. "Look, _Yama_, I think you're a little too drunk to have a real sense of reality, so where do you think I should take you? Would it be okay if I dropped you off at your house?"

He shook his head.

"Um…any friends' places I can take you to?"

Yamato laughed. "My friends aren't like yours, Tai. The only reason I talk to them is because we have terrible habits."

I didn't even try to pretend like I had any idea what he was talking about.

"It's like…" He sat up straight again. "I know your friends. They probably hang out with you because you guys grew up together or some shit. And you've remained so close because you know each other oh-so well. Am I right?"

I slowly nodded.

"Exactly," he continued, "so you don't really know how my friends are. We chill because we all smoke pot, drink, smoke cigarettes, and other shit. I sure as fuck wouldn't be able top randomly call up one of my friends and ask them if they wanted to chill unless I had dope or something."

"Why?"

"Because it just don't work that way."

I couldn't understand what he meant. And then, before we could take the conversation any further, he blurted out,

"Would you fuck me, Tai?"

I looked over at him quickly. He was gazing into my eyes, looking lonely and lost. I almost got lost in those bright blue eyes. I was so attracted to him, if I thought about it too much, it would have driven me crazy.

But at the same time, his eyes weren't looking at me. They were looking through me.

"You're drunk, Yama," I finally replied.

"You don't even wanna _try_?"

"Look, I'm not playing games with you. I'm always gonna see you as the guy who scrapped me in detention hall."

"You're so pretty."

That's when I decided it would probably be best if I let him crash at my place.

--

"Listen, Yama, you have to be _really_ quite."

"All right."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, man."

"Okay."

I took Yamato's arm and wrapped it around my shoulders. I knew bringing him to my place was a terrible idea, but I wasn't going to leave him alone to wander around the downtown streets. I waited until around midnight to come home to give us a chance to sneak in.

My mother wasn't a dumbass. If she saw Yamato, she would know he was smashed, and I didn't want that rubbing off on me.

I helped him up the porch steps and slowly began turning the doorknob.

"Tai!" he shouted.

"Shut up!" I whispered. "What?"

"What was that?"

He sure as fuck didn't know how to talk quietly, much less whisper.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I snapped. "Come on."

"I know that sound."

"A fucking car? C'mon, let's –"

"That's Jiro's car! Tai, get the fuck inside, he's gonna fucking kill you!"

Before I could say anything, Yamato opened the door and shoved me inside. I fell onto the coffee table and knocked over a few glasses in the dark before standing up and whispering his name. I didn't even realize he was still outside.

I hurried to the window and saw Yamato talking to someone in a car on the road. No doubt about it, the douchebag in the car was Scrappy McGee from Anger Management. What was he doing talking to him? Wasn't he legally not allowed to be near him?

After a few minutes, the car drove off and Yamato made his way back onto the porch.

"Taichi?" my mom's voice came, and a light flickered on.

I turned around. "Hey, Mom."

"What was that noise?"

"Oh, I fell over one of Kari's shoes and knocked a cup over. I'll clean it up."

"Well, be careful, Taichi. I have to work in the morning and Kari's in bed with an awful fever."

"I'm sorry. I'll—"

That's when Yamato came through the door and fell nearly face-first onto the floor.

My mom just looked at me with the most pissed off face I've ever seen her wear.

"Who…"

"Mom, this is Yamato…he's just gonna crash here for the night."

Yamato steadied himself by standing up and grabbing onto the fireplace. "Hey, how ya doin'."

Wordlessly, my mom left the room, shaking her head.

Yamato pretty much fell onto the couch and smiled at me. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"For lettin' me stay here."

I sat beside him with a sigh. "Do you need a bucket or anything? I don't want you puking on my floor…"

"I can hold my liquor, man."

"I'm hoping so."

Yamato then leaned his head back and gazed at me. I didn't like it when he did that, because it didn't look like he was staring at me. He was looking through me, like he couldn't make out who I was or what I looked like. He was just staring at me for the sake of staring at something.

"I feel so fucked," he whispered.

"How come?"

Without replying, he began kissing my neck and biting down to my shoulder. I could only freeze and try to push him off me. He didn't mean it. He was drunk.

So why couldn't I tell him to fuck off?

"You're so sexy," he told me, kissing my lips.

I awkwardly stood up and nodded. "Look, I'm gonna…go to bed. I'll come check up on you later, okay?"

"Sounds good, love," he said, his eyes practically shut.

"Get some sleep."

I made my way slowly to my room, shutting the lights off on my way and falling to the floor when I arrived to my destination.

My jeans were too tight for me to handle, and Yamato Ishida was laying on my couch, passing out drunk and macking on me way too hard.

Do you have any idea how much will power it took to crawl into bed and finally go the fuck to sleep?


End file.
